Blade: House Of Chthon

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All Rise...

Judge Mike Rubino was turned away by the vampires after they realized he didn't know how to dance in a night club.

The Charge

"Sun's down, time to make some new friends."—Blade.

Opening Statement

The Blade franchise is one that I never
expected to be successful; but I also love it dearly. This short-lived
television series on Spike TV was a noble effort in continuing the film series,
but sadly I don't think it could survive without Wesley Snipes attached.

Blade: House of Chthon is a feature-length pilot episode of the
series, and it has all the aspirations of its big-screen predecessors.
Unfortunately, a low budget and sub-par acting keep it from surviving through
the night.

Facts of the Case

We are living in a world in which vampires live among us, secretly meeting in
dance clubs and dressing like Eurotrash, undermining our culture and preying on
the innocent. They've even infiltrated human society, paying off the police and
government to supply them with fresh blood and cover from the law. It's a dark
world that only one man can penetrate: Blade, the vampire hunter.

You see, Blade's mother was bitten by a vampire whilst she was pregnant,
resulting in Blade being born half-man, half-vampire. He conveniently has all
the strengths of being a bloodsucker, without any sensitivity to light, garlic,
or techno music. Of course, Blade does hunger, and for that he needs his serum
twice daily. A small price to pay for kicking butt nightly.

After spawning a successful movie trilogy, this semi-obscure Marvel Comics
vampire hunter made the jump to cable TV. Originally developed for Showtime,
Blade: The Series ended up in the capable hands of Spike TV. After Wesley
Snipes and Jessica Biel opted not to be in the show, Spike recruited the likes
of Kirk "Stinky Fingaz" Jones and Jill Wagner.

This DVD release features the original, uncut, 90-minute pilot episode of
the series. While the show isn't currently getting picked up for a second
season, this episode alone brought in the largest ratings Spike TV ever had.

The Evidence

Blade has long been one of my favorite
Marvel franchises. I consider the original Blade to be the influential
springboard for all of Marvel's success in Hollywood, and one of the best
comic-movies around. Blade II was a pretty
successful sequel, and Blade Trinity was a misstep for sure. As you
follow this series downhill from the original film, you'll discover that
Blade: The Series rests peacefully at the bottom.

I think of this show, and especially Blade: House of Chthon, as a
noble, yet fruitless, effort.

The pilot episode opens with Blade back in Moscow, chasing down a Ruskie in
some sort of underground tunnel. It was a cool way to start the show and
introduce the character. From there, the episode jumps around and quickly
introduces a number of other plotlines—all taking place in Detroit. You
meet Krista Starr (Jill Wagner), who returns from duty in Iraq only to find that
her brother was killed by some mysterious gang; then you meet Detective Brian
Boone (Bill Mondy) who is working for the vampires as a "familiar";
and finally you meet the bad guy of the series, pasty philanthropist Marcus van
Sciver (Neil Jackson).

The show does its best during this 90-minute pilot to sum up the entire
Blade backstory, the network of vampires, the supply-and-demand economy
of blood, and Sciver's plan for vampire shenanigans. While it's a little weird
that Sciver lives in a stereotypical vampire castle situated in downtown
Detroit, it's even stranger that they introduce some sort of Native American
link with vampires. I don't recall if they explored that later in the series,
but it is only alluded to during the pilot. They essentially set up enough
during these 90 minutes to require you to watch the remaining 11 episodes (which
have yet to be released on DVD).

The action in the episode is surprisingly good for an original cable
television series. I read reports that Spike TV was strapped for cash while
making this show, but it isn't as obvious as you might think. The special
effects from the films, including that cool vampire-explody-charcoal one, are in
the show in a dumbed-down fashion. But there is plenty of blood and acrobatics
to make up for it. I have to wonder though, why does Blade bother fighting these
vampires in hand-to-hand combat when he can just stab them with his silver
stakes and get it over with? I guess it wouldn't be as entertaining.

Unfortunately, while the action is pretty good, the acting is not. The
casting of "Sticky Fingaz" wasn't a terrible decision (after all, he
does sort of look like Snipes), but you quickly find out that he isn't half the
actor Snipes is. That's saying a lot. The rest of the cast is okay, but not
great. I wish people didn't always play vampires as such sleazy, horny
cornballs. Seriously, why are these people so intense all of the time? It should
be easy to tell who is a vampire and who is normal, because the vampires always
dress like they are going to the club. Blade is also paired up with a new
sidekick named Shen, since his former friend Whistler died in the movies. He
fits that typical wisecracking Asian archetype, and really just seems to annoy
Blade round the clock. Honestly, though, most people aren't tuning in to this
show for some amazing acting…it's all about the vampire-killin' action; in
that regard, the show succeeded.

The pilot was directed by Peter O'Fallon, who has directed his fair share of
television shows. He does a great job of mimicking the style of the three
Blade films, while also giving this show its own identity. At times, the
show falls in to the routine employed by many TV action shows: lots of quick
cuts during a fight scene, and loads of angles showing Blade driving his muscle
car. They needed to switch those two methods of filming around: show us a small
portion of Blade driving, and a lot of Blade fighting. Alas, I guess you do what
you can with the budget you're given.

Blade: House of Chthon was shot in high definition, and it really
shows on this DVD release. The picture looks great for a television show, and
really makes this feel like another addition to the Blade movies. Good video
quality like this is very important for a show that spends a lot of time in the
dark. The show sounds good, too, with a pounding techno-rock soundtrack in
surround sound. The only weird problem was with the fighting sound effects,
which all sound like someone breaking raw eggs. Why is every punch wet and
crunchy?

This DVD also comes packed with a very extensive hour-long documentary,
broken up in to several parts. The documentary, called "Turning
Blade," features interviews with the cast, director O'Fallon, and series
writer, producer, and overall guru David Goyer. While the documentary drags a
bit, it is very detailed and thorough; it covers everything from the creation
the series down to the details about Blade's weapons and costume. The
documentary talks about the series as a whole, but stays focused just on this
pilot episode, which was a smart move. Also on the DVD are two commentary
tracks, one by director O'Fallon and one with the episode's writers, Goyer and
Geoff Johns. Both are fairly interesting to listen to, with O'Fallon offering up
more dry details than Goyer and Johns.

The DVD packaging is pretty solid here, and it captures the feel of the
series very well. Heck, at first glance, you might even think that's Wesley
Snipes on the cover. I do question the title of the pilot, "House of
Chthon." It's odd to give your big debut episode a title most people
wouldn't even know how to pronounce. The "unrated" tag also seems a
little unnecessary here, considering that there are only brief moments of R
material in this release. I guess more people will buy something if it isn't
rated…

Closing Statement

Blade: The Series wasn't the worst movie-to-television series to come
along in recent years, and I have to give these folks a lot of credit for going
the distance in terms of production values. It was a flawed show, hurt mostly by
its lack of a budget and some weak cast members. That said, Blade: House of
Chthon doesn't totally stand on its own, so if you want any sort of closure,
get ready to buy the rest of the series when its released sometime down the
road. But if you love all things Blade, and
you've got the hunger for more…then get this release.

The Verdict

Guilty of being a mindlessly entertaining continuation of the Blade franchise that is supposed to hold you over
until the entire series is released.